Biblical motifs in the legends about the doom of Gavan’s castles

Abstract

The paper cites and analyses legends about Gavan and the doom of his castle. The focus is on the analysis of the written records of the legends published in scientific monographs, papers, journals. The analysis has shown that all of these legends contain motifs of destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Old Testaments and explain the origin of numerous lakes in the territory of both the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This oral tradition is the most prominent in the area of Imotski borderland and Herzegovina where these legends are still recounted. The legends are an integral and an immensely significant part of the Croatian intangible cultural heritage, therefore we should consistently record them in order to preserve them for the future generations.